Flooding death toll rises

Flooding death toll rises

1of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

2of52Workers prepare to move the Royito's Hot Sauce food truck near 6th Street and Wood Street next to the Shoal Creek that flooded, as Austin businesses clean up after the recent flooding, on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

3of52A cleaning crew pushes mud and water at the Goodwill Store in the 900 block of N. Lamar as Austin businesses clean up after flooding along Shoal Creek on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

4of52The water level can be seen, left, on a glasses display in the Goodwill Store in the 900 block of N. Lamar, as Austin businesses clean up after flooding along Shoal Creek on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

5of52A cleaning crew pushes mud and water at the Goodwill Store in the 900 block of N. Lamar in Austin, TX, as Austin businesses clean up after flooding along Shoal Creek on, Wednesday, May 27, 2015.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

6of52Eric Feldkamp, left, Store Manager of Whole Earth Provision Co., and another worker walk past a heap of damaged merchandise at the store on N. Lamar in Austin, TX, where local businesses were cleaning up after flooding along Shoal Creek, on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

7of52During a downpour, a biker rides along Shoal Creek near N. Lamar St. in Austin, TX on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, where Austin businesses were cleaning up after flooding along Shoal Creek.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

8of52San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero chats with Senator Ted Cruz after he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

9of52Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

10of52Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

11of52Senator Ted Cruz greets San Marcos officials before he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015. Cruz is shaking hands with stand in Communications Director Melissa Millecam. Left is Emergency management coordinator Kenneth Bell. Off Cruz' shoulder is Mayor Pro Tem Jude Prather.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

12of52Senator Ted Cruz greets San Marcos officials before he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015. Cruz is shaking hands with stand in Communications Director Melissa Millecam. Left is Emergency management coordinator Kenneth Bell. Off Cruz' shoulder is Mayor Pro Tem Jude Prather.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

13of52Senator Ted Cruz hears from San Marcos Mayor Pro Tem Jude Prather (left) and Emergency Management Coordinator Kenneth Bell before he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

14of52Senator Ted Cruz hears from San Marcos Mayor Pro Tem Jude Prather (left) and Emergency Management Coordinator Kenneth Bell before he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

15of52Hays County Judge Bert Cobb lobbies for help after Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

16of52Hays County Judge Bert Cobb lobbies for help after Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

17of52San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero chats with Senator Ted Cruz after he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015. Trailing is Hays County Judge Bert Cobb.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

18of52San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero chats with Senator Ted Cruz after he speaks at the San Marcos Police Department after taking a tour of flood devastation in the area on May 27, 2015. Trailing is Hays County Judge Bert Cobb.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

19of52Bryan Martinez leans over his now cleared out back yard as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley. The piers from the vanished home can be seen in the distance.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

20of52Piers seen from the property belonging to Bryan Martinez are all that remain of the neighbors home as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

21of52Piers are all that remain of a home taken away in weekend floods. Bryan Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

22of52A cross is planted on the front of the property where 10 people were taken during weekend floods. Bryan Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

23of52Bryan Martinez leans over his now cleared out back yard as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley. The piers from the vanished home can be seen in the distance.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

24of52Bryan Martinez gets condolences from volunteer Tanya McDonald with husband Rob McDonald as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

25of52Bryan Martinez looks over family photos drying in the living room as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

26of52Bryan Martinez looks over family photos drying in the living room as he toils at cleaning his house and salvaging items on May 27, 2015. Martinez lives one house away from the home which was swept off its foundation with 10 people inside during the weekend flooding on the Blanco River in Wimberley.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

27of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

28of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

29of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

30of52A Devine, Texas police vehicle has words written on it Wednesday May 27, 2015 regarding Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez who died in last weekend's floods. The car was parked at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for Ramirez's graveside service.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

31of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

32of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

33of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

34of52Mourners gather Wednesday May 27, 2015 at the Devine Evergreen Cemetery for the graveside service of Devine High School graduating senior Alyssa Ramirez. Ramirez died in last weekend's storms after her car stalled in rising floodwaters near Devine, Texas.Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

35of52Volunteers leave a community relief center set by the local school district at the high school gym as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

36of52Volunteers leave a community relief center set by the local school district at the high school gym as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

37of52Sarah Seaton folds and stack donated clothing in the Wimberly High School gym where the school district set up a community relief center as clean up continues in Wimberly after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

38of52Annas Medley scurries donated supplies past buckets in the community relief center at Wimberley High School as clean up continues in Wimberly after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

39of52Volunteers Danielle Pitcher (left) and Kylie Wilson stack donated paper goods in the community relief center at Wimberley High School as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

40of52Amanda Woodell hugs a dog brought in to the Wimberley Adooption Group and Rescue as clean up continues in Wimberly after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015. Assisting is volunteer Debbie Randall (right).Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

41of52Veterinary technicians Carin Ponder (left) and D'Lisa Whaley administer to a cut on Jane who was picked up by the Wimberley Adoption Group and Rescue as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

42of52A five foot thick tree lays on the roadside on the north bank of the river as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

43of52With more rain falling, a military vehicles stops to regroup in a parking lot as clean up continues in Wimberly after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

44of52Neighbors help to clean up a friends home destroyed by the high waters as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

45of52The piers which once held the house which floated away with families still inside is seen through rubble on the north side of the river as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

46of52Many homes such as this one have been left pending return of owners as clean up continues in Wimberley after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

47of52With more rain falling, a military vehicles stops to regroup in a parking lot as clean up continues in Wimberly after devastating flooding of the Blanco River with Texas National Guard troops still assisting with search and rescue on May 27, 2015.Photo: Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News

48of52A group of volunteers roll a heavy cypress log at a home on Spoke Hollow Rd. on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, as Wimberley residents clean up after flooding along the Blanco River.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

49of52Contessa Weinheimer sprays bleach water on the exposed wood framing of her property on Spoke Hollow Rd. in Wimberley on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, as Wimberley residents clean up after flooding along the Blanco River. They had five and a half ft of water in their home.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

50of52A group of volunteers cut and remove felled trees at a home on Spoke Hollow Rd. in Wimberley, TX on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, as Wimberley residents clean up after flooding along the Blanco River.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

51of52A group of people clear out debris from what is left of the foundation of a home on Flite Acres Rd. in Wimberley, TX on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, as Wimberley residents clean up after flooding along the Blanco River.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

52of52Amanda Hartman, a volunteer from New Braunfels, throws a handful of debris in a pile behind a home on Spoke Hollow Rd. in Wimberley, TX on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, as Wimberley residents clean up after flooding along the Blanco River. A body was found near this location earlier in the day.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

SAN MARCOS — Searchers continued scouring the banks of the Blanco River for survivors of last weekend’s record flood Wednesday as the tally of victims grew and officials struggled to quantify the damage.

And the first funeral for a flood victim took place Wednesday morning in Devine, where 18-year-old Alyssa Ramirez was laid to rest by friends and family. Ramirez was just 2 miles from home, coming back from post-prom festivities in San Antonio early Sunday, when her vehicle was swept away by rising floodwaters.

In Blanco County, county spokesman Ben Oakley said Zachary Jones, a 42 year-old cook from Blanco, died late Saturday after rising waters swept his car off a road there.

Three people still are missing in Blanco County from the storm that dumped 12 inches of rain there, turning the river into a raging torrent, he said.

“The damage is absolutely devastating,” Oakley said, noting the flood washed away a bridge on RR 165 east of Blanco and caused extensive other losses that still are being inventoried.

“Our primary focus has been on search and rescue,” he said.

Farther downstream, in Hays County, nine people remained missing as officials identified two bodies recovered Tuesday as individuals who vanished from the Wimberley area.

The woman whose body was found in Caldwell County near Martindale — about 20 miles from where she last was seen — was identified as Michelle Marie Carey-Charba, 43. She was a member of one of the families that were inside a vacation home in Wimberley when it was swept off its foundation by a “wall of water.”

One family member, Jonathan McComb, was found alive 10 miles downriver; his wife and their two children still are missing. Also missing are Carey-Charba’s husband, their son and her parents.

The body discovered Tuesday near the RR 12 bridge in Wimberley was identified as Jose Alvero Arteaga-Pichardo, 29.

DNA testing will be required to identify the third known flood victim in Hays County, a man whose body was found Sunday in San Marcos.

More than 3,600 acres along 26 miles of river had been covered as of Wednesday in the search effort led by Texas Task Force 1, which included the use of helicopters equipped with heat sensors, said Kenneth Bell, emergency management coordinator in San Marcos.

Despite the passage of days since the flood, Bell said “we’re still hopeful” of finding people alive.

He predicted it will take years for the downed trees, smashed houses and other flood debris to be removed from along the Blanco River.

“It is a massive undertaking,” Bell said.

Once the task force wraps up its highly specialized search in and near the river, areas farther from the water will be scoured by private search groups that are expected soon.

Volunteer help also is needed, Bell said, and anyone interested in assisting should report between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to centers opened at the Cypress Creek Church in Wimberley, and at 206 C.M. Allen Parkway in San Marcos.

Disaster-related questions should be directed to a hotline at 512-754-2275, officials said.

The task of assessing the damage to public infrastructure and private property in Hays County also has begun to determine whether the losses are sufficient to qualify the affected communities for state and federal disaster assistance.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who joined Bell at the news briefing, said preliminary indications are that the damage from recent flooding across Texas would qualify the state for federal support.

He praised emergency responders for helping Texans cope with recent weather woes and its residents for pulling together to help each other.

Calling the destruction he witnessed touring Wimberley “unimaginable,” Cruz said, “The death toll could have been unspeakably worse if people hadn’t evacuated.”

Hays County spokeswoman Laureen Chernow said “it’s going to take a while” to fully assess the damage to county roads and bridges.

“A lot of places are still under water,” she noted.

The flood washed away a state bridge on Fischer Store Road and, farther downstream, damaged the bridge on RR 12 so much that only one lane remains open.

But, he said Wednesday: “Our priority at this time remains the safety of all drivers — ensuring that open roads and bridges are safe to cross, and closing those that are not.”

In Caldwell County, the flood proved a rude welcome for County Judge Ken Schawe, who took office in January.

“We’re still in damage assessment mode and trying to make all of the roads passable and safe,” he said, noting heavy damage occurred to low-lying subdivisions along the San Marcos River, into which the Blanco River flows south of San Marcos.

“There were roads flooded that never had water on them before,” said Schawe, who reported that he was in the county’s emergency operations center from Saturday night till early Tuesday.

Schawe praised Martin Ritchey, the county's emergency management coordinator, for issuing an evacuation order late Saturday upon hearing of the surge in the river heading that way, possibly saving lives of those in its path.

The judge also appealed for riverside resident“s to stay vigilant, saying, "We have additional rains coming.“

The National Weather Service was forecasting a 40 percent chance of rain today, with possible thunderstorms.